Right-to-work bill advances in Ind.

The Indiana House approved right-to-work legislation on Wednesday, setting the stage for Gov. Mitch Daniels to sign the controversial measure into law before the Super Bowl, according to a report.

The state House voted 55-41 for the measure, which also looks likely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate, The Associated Press reported. Daniels, who gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, says he’d sign the bill. It could hit his desk before Indianapolis hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, the AP reported.

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“This announces especially in the Rust Belt, that we are open for business here,” Republican state House Speaker Brian Bosma said, according to the AP.

The right-to-work measure would prohibit contracts requiring all workers to pay mandatory union dues. Democrats had stalled action on the bill several times by sitting out floor sessions and denying Republicans a quorum. House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer told the AP “we did better than anybody ever expected.”

With Super Bowl XLVI coming to Indiana in February, the National Football League Players Association issued a statement earlier this month dubbing the right-to-work legislation “a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers’ rights.”

“As Indianapolis proudly prepares to host the Super Bowl it should be a time to shine in the national spotlight and highlight the hard-working families that make Indiana run instead of launching political attacks on their basic rights,” the NFLPA wrote in its Jan. 6 statement. “It is important to keep in mind the plight of the average Indiana worker and not let them get lost in the ceremony and spectacle of such a special event. This Super Bowl should be about celebrating the best of what Indianapolis has to offer, not about legislation that hurts the people of Indiana.”